Ken Washio
Ken Washio also known as Ken the Eagle and Gatchaman is the team leader & tactical expert whose Birdstyle is based off of the eagle. When not in costume, Ken works as an aircraft test pilot and delivers parcels by air mail. Background Ken grew up believing his parents were dead spending most of his life under the wing of Dr. Nanbu undergoing the training to become Gatchaman. To keep his cover, Ken got a job as a test pilot and delivery boy while living in his father's old office on a small airfield. Appearance Ken is a young man with shoulder length but messy hair with blue eyes. His civilian clothing consists of a standard short sleeve shirt with the number one on it. His eagle-like Gatchaman costume is colored white with the ends of his limbs colored blue. He has the Gatchaman emblem on his chest, a long white cape with a red interior, and his helmet has a blue visor. Personality Ken is usually a calm and collected person, but when faced with a crisis he can get swept up in emotion and requires the help of his team to pull himself through. He is an avid reader, reading books in his spare time. When out in the field, he tends not to use his real name and does not appear to be good with money either, often having Shinpei pay his bills at Jun's snack stand. Relationships Kentaro Washio/Red Impulse Ken was close with his father and aspired to become a good man like him. Seeing his father die in an explosion because of Galactor and being unable to do anything made Ken determined to stop Galactor and undergo training to avenge his father. Meeting Red Impulse, Ken feels a familiar presence but could not find out why until episode 53 where Red Impulse reveals that he is Ken's father who survived and went into hiding, before using his aircrafts missiles in a suicidal style to destroy the V2. Ken was upset that he lost his father again after managing to find out about him again, but after coming out of his depression Ken was more determined to finish off Galactor. Joe Asakura As second-in-command of the team, Joe is usually the one Ken communicates with the most next to Jun. They tend to butt heads with each other due to their differing personalities and way of handling situations. But Ken sees Joe as one of his closest friends and allies and knows when to count on him in missions. Jun Ken sees Jun as a respectable and trustworthy teammate, but due to his intense focus on missions Ken is usually ignorant of Jun's feelings for him, neither does he have any interest in starting a romantic relationship with Jun or anyone else. In spite of this, Ken appreciates what Jun does to help him in situations. Weapons and Arsenal Bird Style Ken's Eagle Style of Kagaku Ninpo focuses on speed and agility while using his boomerangs. Sometimes he even uses his weapons while transforming. Ken's Bird Run allows him to run on most surfaces including the sides of buildings and water. Weapons *'Birdrang: '''A boomerang with a rocket propelled tail.The primary and original weapon of Ken in the first series *'Bird Saucer:' A collapsible bladed discus that replaced the Birdrang in Gatchaman II. *'Shock Gun': A multipurpose blaster equipped with a variety of ammo for specific tasks such as a grenade launcher for demolition or a stun blast for infiltration missions. *'Gatchaman Fencer:' A sword that Ken used as his primary weapon during Gatchaman Fighter.While a normal collapsible sword in default mode, it can be powered up by the Gatchaspartan's Delta Energy, turning it into a electrified beam sword that wields 200,000 kilowatts of power capable of slicing through solid steel. Science Ninja Techniques '''Kagaku Ninpo: Bird Flash:' Releases a blinding light to disorient foes. Kagaku Ninpo: Kage No Bunshin: A high tech variation of an old ninja trick where a ninja would move so fast that they would create illusionary copies of themselves. In this version, the birdstyle suit glows for a second, creating and projecting solid hologram doubles of Ken. G-1 Mecha G-1: Eagle Sharp: Ken's fighter jet from Gatchaman II. Destroyed in Gatchaman Fighter Gatcha One: Ken's red and white jet plane in Gatchaman Fighter. After the destruction of Eagle Sharp and the New God Phoenix, Ken received this new mecha. Armed with lasers and twin missile launchers. It is one of the five vehicles used to combine into the Gatchaspartan and the primary vehicle used in the Hypershoot attack maneuver. When combining, the Gatcha One forms the front of the ship. Video Games Ken is a playable character in the fighting games Tatsunoko Fight and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Notes *Given that the Gatchaman team are modeled after American superheroes in design,the Birdrang is an obvious nod Batman's famous Batarang. **Coincidentally, the Birdrang and the Batman Beyond Batarang share a slightly similar design (collapsible wings and an oblong handle). ' *Robin's Birdarang from the TV series Teen Titans bears an uncanny resemblance to Ken's weapon, save for the red and yellow coloring. This is possibly intentional, as Ciro Nieli, the serial producer of the series is known for referencing classic anime in television series he works on. Category:Characters Category:Gatchaman